PHALACROCORAX CARBO I COMMON CORMORANT. 339 



FAMILY PHALACROCORACID^: 

 CORMORANTS. 



COMMON CORMORANT. 

 PHALACROCORAX CARBO (L.) Leach. 



Chars. Bill about as long as head, stout, more or less nearly 

 terete, strongly hooked at the end ; tomia generally found 

 irregularly jagged, but not truly serrate ; a long, narrow nasal 

 groove, but nostrils obliterated in the adult state ; gape reach- 

 ing below the eyes, which are set in naked skin. Gular pouch 

 forming an evident naked space under the bill and on the throat, 

 encroached upon by the feathers on the middle line so that it is 

 heart-shaped behind. Wings short for this order, stiff and 

 strong, the second primary usually longer than the third, both 

 these exceeding the first. Tail long, large, fan-shaped, of 

 fourteen very stiff, strong feathers, denuded to the base by 

 extreme shortness of the coverts. Plumage glossy greenish- 

 black ; feathers of back and wing-coverts bronzy-gray, black- 

 edged ; quills and tail grayish-black ; gular sac yellow, 

 white-bordered ; feet black ; in summer a white flank patch, 

 numerous long thready white plumes on head and neck, and 

 a small black occipital crest. Length, 36.00 ; wing, 12.00-14.00; 

 tail, 6.00-7.00 ; tarsus over 2.00 ; bill, 4.00 along the gape. 



Rather common off the coast during the fall and win- 

 ter months. A few also breed at Grand Menan. Mr. 

 Hiram Cutting records a specimen taken in Vermont. 



